"We Didn't Give It The Knock-Out"

David Murray

11/01/2008

LINEBACKER DOMINIC DOUGLAS: How does this compare to the Auburn loss, another one-point loss? "Both of them feel equal, just really, really bad. We had chances to score, we had chances to stop, and we didn't do either. This is a game that honestly we should have won. We just didn't come up with the plays to win."

"Their quarterback, he's a freshman and I give him credit, he's a pretty good quarterback. He's got a lot of years to mature, he's a good player for them and he came up with big plays for them."

Q: What made the difference there in the third quarter? "They just ran the ball. They had shotgun, split-back personnel in, they ran the ball consistently out of that. We came to the sideline and tried to bounce-back, we made the adjustments and you saw. But we just didn't come up with the big play."

Q: What did you see on your interception? "It was a two-cover type of play. I was dropping deep and trying to read the quarterback's eyes, just tried to come up with the big play and be the play-maker I feel and my team feels I am. To try to turn the game around. But we needed more like that."

Q: What was your reaction when the field goal hit the upright? "My head went down. Honestly, my head went down. But I couldn't just go down on my team, I had to keep the intensity rolling and pick them up and hopefully somebody make a big play at the end to try to push us to a win."

Q: After 2007 when so much went right, how are you handling a year when things go wrong? "Just being a team. Everybody is just trying to keep everybody up, that's basically what keeps us in the game, keep our heads in place and come together as a team."

"We'll gear-up for a road contest. The week-off is going to be good for us, give us time to rest and get our bodies to top-level we need it to be. (Alabama) is number one or two in the nation so we need this off-week to get ready and in two weeks play top-notch football."

CORNERBACK JASPER O'QUINN: "I can't lie, it was tough. But like Coach said we have to keep the faith, keep fighting. I mean, the spirit of this team, all year we've been having ups-and-downs. Bad things happen, but we always seem to find a way to have faith in God and believe in each other and come out each week and fight. When it seems we're going to be down, we find a way to come back and fight."

How did Kentucky's attack change with their quarterbacks? "Basically when (Randall) Cobb was in there they just really tried to spread us out and get us in the open field so he could make plays. He's just a freshman but he's a great play-maker and they wanted to spread us out and get him the ball and let him make plays with the ball. Basically (Matt) Hartline is the thrower, he liked to throw the ball downfield and try to get something going through the air. So we knew that when Cobb was in the game we had to be aware of the run and the throw. People sometimes overlook the fact that he can throw the ball. It was tough with both of them."

Q: Do you feel this was one that got away? "Or course. Of course. We just didn't make the plays we needed to make. We had opportunities to make big plays and just didn't do it. But all-in-all it was a great effort, offensively and defensively."

Q: A couple of special-teams plays obviously affected the outcome. "It's going to be magnified, but at the same time we can't point fingers. Because we're all a team. Bad things happen in games that you've just got to overcome, and keep fighting. Of coursed it's going to be magnified but we can't put the whole game on that one situation."

OFFENSIVE TACKLE DEREK SHERROD: Q: What did the new video board look like to you players? "It's very impressive. And that just shows how Mississippi State is growing as an elite school. When we get stuff like that it helps us because we know we're getting a lot of support from our fans and our administration and everybody. I think that just shows a lot, and we're growing."

WIDE RECEIVER BRANDON McRAE: Q: You just said this hurts, can you explain how bad? "Right now I just want to stay in the house and watch TV, not do anything."

"We just couldn't sustain drives. We got a lot of good things out of it today but we need to work on a lot of things, too."

Q: There on the last series it looked like if Tyson leads you a step, it's a touchdown. "Yeah, it was just a little mis-communication. I wish we could get that back, but it's in the past now. It's going to be alright."

QUARTERBACK TYSON LEE: "We thought we'd spread out and try to get some passing yards, that way spread them out and start running the ball in the second half."

Q: The last two drives, you'd been clicking before but couldn't seem to then. "Yeah, I just didn't make the plays. We had guys wide-open and I just didn't make the plays. And when you don't make the plays you can't do much."

Q: Did you get tired of seeing #99 chasing you? "They had a great front-four. They applied pressure all day. The offensive line did well, we had guys open, I just didn't hit them and we couldn't move the ball the way we needed to."

Q: Are those things that can be worked on? "To a point. I think the biggest thing, and I've said the whole time, is execution. I think we had a great gameplan against them, I think we had great plays called. But we didn't execute, I didn't make some of the throws, and not making those plays really hurt us in the end."

Q: How do you keep the everybody up now? "You just have to stay positive. Life is not always good. Hey, Jesus went through stuff, we're going to go through stuff. The biggest thing is you learn from the good but you've got to learn from the bad, too. Hopefully we can see how life is and learn from this and just keep getting better so we don't have to feel like this any more."

Q: How much did Arnil Stallworth and Arceto Clark help open up the offense? "Oh, they did great. They are both playmakers, get them the ball in open space and they can make a lot happen. That's what happened today."

Q: After scoring first you were able to move the ball but not score again. "That's the biggest thing, we didn't give it the knock-out. When you have teams on the ropes or when you're moving the ball you have to execute and make the plays. we didn't do that, the second half came, we had those opportunities, had guys open, and I just didn't make the plays. It hurt us, hurt us a lot."

Q: How frustrating was not getting more points in the first half? "Very disappointing. We had the opportunities and didn't make them. Like I said, we had the right plays called, the right personnel, and a lot of times I just didn't make the plays. The second half it ended up hurting us and we couldn't get the win."

Q: Before the missed field goal you tripped, was that a rollout or option? "It was supposed to be a fake to Anthony and a rollout to the left. I just went too wide, hit his leg, and got tripped up. You can't hurt yourself at crucial times like that."

"I don't know what happened on that field goal kick. Adam is a great kicker, I don't take anything from Adam. It was just one of those things I guess, just a little far to the left. It happens to everybody."

FULLBACK ARNIL STALLWORTH: Q: What happened on your touchdown play? "I kind of messed-up my route then, I ran the wrong route. But it was a good completion, Tyson threw it to me in the flat and the guy came off the edge. I had to make one move and get into the end zone, and I got it."

"The plays were there without a doubt. As a team we accept our mistakes. We just can't leave points on the field. We have to make field goals, we've got to make the extra points. But I'm not putting it on special teams, all of us. We take losses as a team."

"The offense obviously didn't make the plays we needed in the stretch. But we can't leave points on the field, especially against a SEC team. We have to make the plays, we have to take opportunities to score and take advantage."

"This off-week we'll work extra hard for Alabama, they're probably going to be ranked one or two in the country. I know they're not expecting us to win, but yet show up for the game, so we've got to work extra hard. It's not panic, it's a sense of urgency. We've got to go out and play our game and keep our composure and be disciplined in everything we do."

SAFETY DEREK PEGUES: "We've got to stay positive and stay focused on what we've got left and try to get some wins."

Q: What goes through your mind on a blocked field goal or missed extra point? "Man, what happened? That's all you can say, how did that happen? We got some bad breaks, you know. Guys should have made plays even before those situations, defensively we couldn't get off the field coming out in the second half. We let them drive the ball and just dominate us to get in the end zone. We made some plays later but I believe it was a little too late. We just weren't able to get off the field, we didn't do our part and that hurt the whole team. If we'd got a three-and-out at the beginning of the second half it may have changed dramatically. But hey, it is what it is and we've just got to move on and get ready for the next game."

Q: It looked as if you had a touchdown on your hands in the second quarter? "Yeah, like I said, not making plays. I beat myself up. I feel like I haven't made enough plays this year, I haven't made any plays really to help this team. These next three games hopefully I can come out and be the kind of playmaker I know that I am. And the kind of playmaker this team knows I am. Hopefully I can make some plays and put us in better position to win games."

"It hurts to lose by one point when we had opportunities to win the game. We've got a bye-week and I kind of hate it came at this time because the best thing to do is try to get back on the field and get a win. But we have to go through this week, try to stay focused, try to stay positive, stay focused, and try to get three victories and try to get to a bowl."